NATIONAL REGISTER OF CITIZENS (NRC)

NATIONAL REGISTER OF CITIZENS (NRC)

Why in news?

The updated and final National Register of Citizens, which validates bonafide Indian citizens of Assam has recently been released with over 19 lakh applicants having failed to make it to the list. 

Background

• The NRC has its roots in the Memorandum of Settlement or the Assam Accord signed between the Assam State Students Union and the Government of India in 1985. The accord was an outcome of the violent anti-migrant movement of the 1980s and contained various clauses to curb illegal migration.

• The Citizenship Act of 1955 was amended after the Assam Accord for all Indian-origin people who came from Bangladesh before January 1, 1966 to be deemed as citizens. o Those who came between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971 were eligible for citizenship after registering and living in the State for 10 years while those entering after March 25, 1971, were to be deported. However, nothing much happened over the decades.

• In 2014, the Supreme Court asked the state government to update the 1951 NRC in a time-bound manner. Present exercise has been conducted under the supervision of the Supreme Court.

The Assam Accord

It was a Memorandum of Settlement signed between representatives of the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Movement in New Delhi on 15 August 1985.

It contained a provision that all ‘foreigners’ who came to Assam after March 25, 1971 should be detected and deported under the Illegal Migration Determination (by Tribunals) (IMDT) Act, 1983. It also talked about the deletion of foreigners' names from the electoral rolls.

What is NRC?

• The National Register of Citizens is a list of all the legal citizens of Assam, the only state with such a document.

• It is governed by the Citizenship Act, 1955, and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003 (amended in 2009) and a 2010 order of the Ministry of Home Affairs, published in the Gazette of India.

• It will include persons whose names appear in any of the electoral rolls upto the midnight of 24th March, 1971 or National Register of Citizens, 1951 and their descendants.

• NRC Vs Census: The census is conducted every decade, on a national level and gives the state a window into the size and nature of Indian population. But the NRC is a unique exercise for the onus to prove citizenship lies with the citizens. They have to, through a documentary evidence, show how they have come to be citizens of India living in Assam.

What is the Significance of the Cut of Date?

The cut of date was a critical bone of contention in determining the status of migrants from Bangladesh to India. It was on March 25, 1971 that the Pakistan military junta started a crackdown on freedom fighters and civilians of East Pakistan.

The large-scale atrocities led to a steady exodus of over 10 million refugees to India, who primarily spread across the states of Assam, West Bengal, and Tripura.

Significance of having an NRC

• A long-term Solution: Established measures to curb illegal migration from Bangladesh, such as diplomatic and border management efforts failed to bring any results. The two main reasons for this are:

1) Bangladesh does not recognise any infiltration taking place from its territory to India;

2) The porous border between India and Bangladesh hinders effective border management. Thus, an NRC is being viewed as an alternate and a far-sighted administrative solution to the menace.

• Ascertaining the identity: NRC will provide a much-needed perspective on the extent of illegal migration. The fear that illegal immigrants will change the demography of state and influence the politics of state will also be done away with.

• A deterring tool: It is expected to deter future migrants from Bangladesh from entering Assam illegally as publication of the draft itself had created a perception that staying in Assam without valid documentation will attract detention/jail term and deportation.

Provisions for people having missed out the NRC list

• The Assam government has assured people that those who find their names missing from the final NRC will not immediately be termed "foreigners" or illegal immigrants.

• Such people will be allowed to register protests with the Foreigners Tribunal. They can even approach the High Court or even the Supreme Court for further appeal in the matter.

• The State government will also provide legal aid to the poor who find their names missing from the list.

Issues associated with the NRC

• Fear of exclusion: There are concerns that NRC may end up incorrectly including or excluding people from the list. o There is also an issue related to D voters. D-voters are those who are disenfranchised by the government on the account of their alleged lack of proper citizenship credentials and their inclusion will depend on decision of the Foreigners Tribunal.

• Concerns of minorities: There are fears that such an exercise could end up targeting minorities in the country. o The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which makes Hindu illegal migrants and those from certain other minority communities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship further creates apprehensions about alienation of minorities in the process.

• No specific policy in ascertaining the fate of people: The government has not prepared a post NRC implementation plan as o the possibility of deportation of illegal migrants to Bangladesh is bleak as the people excluded from the list should be proven citizens of Bangladesh, and that will require cooperation from that country. o If they are identified as "illegal" migrants, they will be locked-up in detention camps, until their deportation. Media reports have been stating that these detention camps are infamous for their inhumane living conditions.

• Security concerns: Concerns are already being raised as to the security fallout.

• Issue of Statelessness: There are apprehensions, that India will end up creating the newest cohort of stateless people, raising the spectre of a homegrown crisis that will echo that of the Rohingya people who fled Myanmar for Bangladesh.

Way Forward

• Regarding finally excluded individuals: They would officially be non-citizens but India has no fixed policy for “stateless” persons. They will surely not have voting rights but certain facilities on “humanitarian grounds” may be provided to them such as right to work etc.

• Tackle issue of illegal migration comprehensively: Solving illegal migrants’ issue in Assam will not solve the whole issue as they may very well come through states like West Bengal and then move on to the other parts of the country. Thus, following steps should be taken:

o Comprehensive border management: including fencing, total surveillance 24x7, use of new imaging technology etc.

o Forging bilateral agreement with neighbouring countries that provide for taking back nationals who stay illegally in the other country after due verification.

o Assistance from international organisations: such as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and other concerned international agencies with experience in this kind of complex issue.

o Establish a SAARC convention: India should take the initiative to encourage other countries in the SAARC region to develop a SAARC convention or declaration on refugees in which member states would agree to ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention.

The road ahead

Amidst all its apprehensions, the NRC is a forward-looking step in documenting India’s citizens and detect and deter infiltrators. The NRC process, at the current juncture, is an outcome of both a judicial push and political balance of power as the Supreme Court has driven it, closely monitoring the entire process. The cooperation of the States will be key for the success of NRC.